New Orleans rapper Ivory Paynes has filed a lawsuit against Memphis rapper GloRilla and producer Macaroni Toni, alleging that they used “key elements” from his 1994 song “Street Of The Westbank” to create GloRilla’s hit song “Tomorrow” without permission. Paynes has named Collective Music Group (CMG), Warner Chappell Music, and Sony/ATV Music in the lawsuit.
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Memphis rapper GloRilla’s hit song “Tomorrow” is the target of a lawsuit filed by New Orleans rapper Ivory Paynes, according to a TMZ report. Paynes is a member of the New Orleans rap group Dog House Posse.
Paynes alleges GloRilla and producer Macaroni Toni used “key elements” such as the piano, cello, and drum track sounds in his 1994 song “Street Of The Westbank” to make “Tomorrow.” The New Orleans native claims the sample was not cleared by him. Paynes has named Glorilla’s label Collective Music Group (CMG), publishing company Warner ChappellMusic and Sony/ATV Music in the lawsuit.
For GloRilla’s breakout hit “F.N.F.,” she claims that she was not paid for the song which the song’s producer, HitKidd responded to her and gave her warnings about the music labels trying to sign her own rights to “F.N.F.”
At the time of GloRilla’s signing to CMG, many fans on Twitter called her out for a video where CMG boss Yo Gotti handed her a contract and she signed it without reading it. The video also caused fan reaction due to GloRilla and her entourage dancing and twerking on the plane before meeting with Yo Gotti.
In related news, Ghanaian rapper Obrafour has filed a lawsuit against Drake for using a sample from his song “Oye Ohene” without permission in Drake’s “Calling My Name.” Obrafour is seeking at least $10 million in damages.
This comes as Drake announces his “It’s All A Blur” Tour and after a recent collaboration with The Weeknd was pulled due to an AI-generated sample that resembled a 1985 song.
Many rappers have been sued in recent years for using a sample without permission.
Kanye West was sued for copyright infringement for sampling in his 2021 song with Andre 3000 “Life Of The Party.” Los Angeles rapper Roddy Ricch was sued for giving proper credit on his 2019 hit “The Box.”
Lil Uzi, Young Thug, and Gunna were also sued for sampling the 2020 song “Strawberry Peels,” which was owned by publishing company Sun City.